Basic Principles of Chromatography - Forensic Applications of Gas Chromatography - page 34

t r2

t r1

t o

Time (mins)

(a)

W 0.6065

h, peak height

W 1/2

W b

(b)

Figure 3.3 Selected chromatographic terms.

• w b = the width of the peak at its extrapolated base. When a peak is
magnified it is normally observed that some curvature takes place
between the baseline and the start of the vertical peak. It is generally
accepted that the width of the peak at the base takes into account this
curvature by extrapolating through it. ( Note: w b1 refers to the width
of the peak base for compound 1 and w b2 is the width of the peak
base for compound 2.)